AlphaSnacks

I feel like a lot of people may not necessarily understand the throw out bearing (release bearing for European cars) and why it's bad to ride the clutch or always keep your clutch down at a light and while in gear.

Throwout bearings were commonly weak components on older transmissions, and I'm sure there are still some new cars out there with crappy release bearings. We had an '88 E30 325i project car that my buddies and I stripped. It was a running car with a 2.8L M52B swap from a 528i. I almost never drove the car, but within 4 months my friends managed to kill the clutch...and sure enough it was the throwout bearing, because they thought it was cool to roll up and down on hills, always keeping the car in gear with the clutch down ready for take off. The bearing began to make crazy noises and it had a ton of play when it came time to take the car apart anyway. Granted, they're both 5 years younger than me and this was about 3 years back.

I'd say sometime after the 2000s, it became a much, much smaller concern of worry for the habitual clutch holders as the bearings were manufactured to take more abuse. But older cars are the reason why people still encourage others not to put unnecessary wear on the bearing and not to hold the clutch down excessively - but it still is a part that will wear down with time. After all, when your foot is down on the clutch, the bearing WILL actually spin along with the pressure plate since it is engaging the flywheel, and then the release of your foot will engage the clutch and transfer momentum to the wheels. So why have it spin needlessly for minutes at a light, or while you coast in neutral, etc? Let go of the pedal.

Edit: For the record, I always keep my foot firmly on the brake when in neutral. I don't keep the clutch down with the car in 1st at lights.